Taliban Encroach on Karzai’s Turf
July 24th, 2008KABUL, Jul 24 (IPS) - Dozens of civilians were killed over the weekend in Afghanistan, the latest in the trend of spiraling violence that has engulfed the embattled nation. The civilian casualties, Taliban attacks and troop casualty numbers are putting increasing strain on the Western-led coalition, leading some to speculate that the war is unwinnable.
On [...]
Bid To Slay Karzai Exposes Security Mess
April 28th, 2008KABUL, Apr 28 (IPS) - Violence levels have increased in Afghanistan in the first quarter of 2008, compared to the first part of 2007, a series of newly-released studies indicate.
On Sunday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai escaped an assassination bid while attending a military parade in Kabul. A member of parliament and a 10-year-old child [...]
Global Emergency Triggers Food Riots
April 25th, 2008KABUL, Apr 25 (IPS) - In the teeming, dense flour bazaars of Kabul, it’s hard not to miss the anger.
“Something has to change… my life is horrible,” says Zahir, an Afghan trash collector. Zahir is buying flour for his family of 11, a simple act that has become increasingly difficult for Afghan residents in recent [...]
Pakistan Seeks Peace Deal With Militant Tribe
April 24th, 2008Terrorism and Security Update
Earlier this week, Pakistani authorities freed a leading pro-Taliban militant who reportedly raised an army of thousands to oppose the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Observers say Maulana Sufi Muhammad’s release from prison heralds a new era of negotiation between militant groups and the new government in Islamabad.
Following the release, a [...]
Afghan Lawmakers Push Cultural Bans of Taliban Era
April 21st, 2008A draft proposal put forth last week would ban loud music, women and men mingling in public, billiards and more.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - – Shafi Samandari thought the days of the Taliban would never come back. “I love listening to music and going to wedding parties,” the Kabul resident says. “After the Taliban was toppled, [...]
Disappointed with NATO, Karzai
March 28th, 2008KABUL, Mar 28 (IPS) - The Shahr-e-now park in the centre of Kabul has seen better days. “It used to be really beautiful,” Kabul resident Torialay says, “back during the early-90s. But after the Mujahiddin war (a civil war between warlords and commanders in the mid-90s that destroyed much of the city) it has never [...]
NATO Bombing Continues
March 26th, 2008KABUL, Mar 26 (IPS) - Jumakhan Said Muhammad was working on his land when he first heard the planes. “I looked up,” the farmer from Musa Qala, in the southern Helmand province, says. “Suddenly a plane flew by and I saw smoke rising from my house, which was down the road.”
Muhammad ran towards his [...]
Afghan doctors protest new security threat: gangs
March 21st, 2008Residents of the western city of Herat say ‘Enough’ to the rise of criminal activity
Kabul, Afghanistan - When a criminal gang abducted a prominent doctor’s 12-year-old son last week off the streets of Herat, residents of the western Afghan city decided they had had enough.
Doctors, [...]
‘Idol’ airs Afghans’ talents – and social divisions
March 19th, 2008Female contestant Lima Sahar caused a nationwide debate about women’s roles before being voted off last week
Kabul, Afghanistan - As millions prepare to cast their ballots Friday in this country’s version of “American Idol,” known here as “Afghan Star,” Fatima Hashemi is still lamenting the [...]
Danish cartoons: one Afghan’s peaceful protest
March 10th, 2008Muhammad Sediq Afghan’s hunger strike has inspired dozens of others to join his nonviolent efforts
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - Hundreds of demonstrators marched the streets of Kabul Sunday, calling for the eviction of Danish and Dutch troops, while in the western city of Herat, thousands assembled [...]
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